Walt Disney International earns CineAsia Distributor Award

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International will receive the “Distributor of the Year” Award at the CineAsia Awards Ceremony on Dec. 8 at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. The award will be accepted by David Kornblum, VP, theatrical sales and distribution, APAC/Russia and global acquisitions, The Walt Disney Company Asia.

“2016 was a great year for box office in the Asia-Pacific region, with WDSMPI leading the way,” said Andrew Sunshine, VP of the Film Expo Group, which manages CineAsia. “The Disney team achieved extraordinary results with a powerful collection of films, making it fitting that they receive this year’s CineAsia Distributor of the Year award.”

The top three international and top four global titles of the year thus far have been released by Disney, including the billion-dollar hits Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and Finding Dory, as well as The Jungle Book, which has grossed over $966 million globally. Notably, the release of Zootopia became the all-time highest-grossing animated film in China and the second-biggest release of all time in Russia, while The Jungle Book was the biggest Western release of all time in India.

Driven by these four films along with the record-setting release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in late 2015, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International has already surpassed $3.5 billion in international box office with two months still remaining in the calendar year 2016 release frame. The studio will round out its 2016 offerings with three more major releases: Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Moanaand Lucasfilm’sRogue One.

The APAC-Russia region is the fastest-growing region in the world and historically accounts for almost 50% of the annual international box-office revenues. Accepting the award on behalf of WDSMPI, Kornblum oversees the international theatrical distribution of all Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm titles in 15 APAC-Russia markets including Japan, Australia, South Korea, China and Russia. In addition, he oversees all international acquisitions for the division and has been responsible for distributing them throughout the international marketplace. He’s a 27-year Disney veteran.

CineAsia will take place Dec. 6-8 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong. The convention will also feature a tradeshow, product presentations and screenings of major upcoming films, exclusive sponsored events, and seminars relating to current and future trends happening across the industry.